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Nothing made any difference.
An article she had rejected in the afternoon would appear in the newspaper sometime after she had gone home. We had a hole we needed to fill, so I had to put in something.
The headline that Berger had decided to use was suddenly replaced by something entirely different. It was not always a bad choice, but it would be done without her consultation. As an act of defiance.
It was always a matter of details. An editorial meeting at 2:00 was suddenly moved to 1:30 without her being told, and most of the decisions were already made by the time she arrived. I'm sorry . . . in the rush I forgot to let you know.
For the life of her, Berger couldn't see why Holm had adopted this attitude towards her, but she knew that calm discussions and friendly reprimands didn't work. Until now she hadn't confronted him in front of other colleagues in the newsroom. Now it was time to express herself more clearly, and this time in front of Frisk, which would ensure that the exchange became common knowledge.
"The first thing I did when I started here was to tell you that I had a special interest in everything to do with Lisbeth Salander. I explained that I wanted information in advance on all proposed articles, and that I wanted to look at and approve everything to be published. I've reminded you about this at least half a dozen times, most recently at the editorial meeting on Friday. Which part of these instructions do you not understand?"
"All the articles that are planned or in production are on the daily memo on our intranet. They're sent to your computer. You're always kept informed," Holm said.
"Bullshit," Berger said. "When the city edition of the paper landed in my mailbox this morning we had a three-column story about Salander and the developments in the Stallarholmen incident in our best news spot."
"That was Margareta Orring's article. She's a freelancer; she didn't turn it in until 7:00 last night."
"Margareta called me with the proposal at 11:00 yesterday morning. You approved it and gave her the assignment at 11:30. You didn't say a word about it at the 2:00 meeting."
"It's in the daily memo."
"Oh, right . . . here's what it says in the daily memo: quote, Margareta Orring, interview with Prosecutor Martina Fransson re: narcotics bust in Sodertalje, unquote."
"The basic story was an interview with Martina Fransson about the confiscation of anabolic steroids. A would-be Svavelsjo biker was busted for that," Holm said.
"Exactly. And not a word in the daily memo about Svavelsjo MC, or that the interview would be focused on Magge Lundin and Stallarholmen, and therefore the investigation of Salander."
"I assume it came up during the interview--"
"Anders, I don't know why, but you're standing here lying to my face. I spoke to Margareta and she said that she clearly explained to you what her interview was going to focus on."
"I must not have realized that it would centre on Salander. Then I got an article late in the evening. What was I supposed to do, kill the whole story? Orring turned in a good piece."
"There I agree with you. It's an excellent story. But that's now your third lie in about the same number of minutes. Orring turned it in at 3:20 in the afternoon, long before I went home at 6:00."
"Berger, I don't like your tone of voice."
"Great. Then I can tell you that I like neither your tone nor your evasions nor your lies."
"It sounds as if you think I'm organizing some sort of conspiracy against you."
"You still haven't answered the question. And item two: today this piece by Johannes shows up on my desk. I can't recall having any discussion about it at the 2:00 meeting. Why has one of our reporters spent the day working on Salander without anybody telling me?"
Frisk squirmed. He was bright enough to keep his mouth shut.
Holm said, "We're putting out a newspaper, and there must be hundreds of articles you don't know about. We have routines here at SMP, and we all have to adapt to them. I don't have time to give special treatment to specific articles."
"I didn't ask you to give special treatment to specific articles. I asked you for two things: first, that I be informed of everything that has a bearing on the Salander case. Second, I want to approve everything we publish on that topic. So, one more time . . . what part of my instructions did you not understand?"
Holm sighed and adopted an exasperated expression.
"OK," Berger said. "I'll make myself crystal clear. I am not going to argue with you about this. Let's see if you understand this message. If it happens again I'm going to relieve you of your job as news editor. You'll hear bang-boom, and then you'll find yourself editing the family page or the comics or something like that. I cannot have a news editor whom I can't trust or work with and who devotes his precious time to undermining my decisions. Understood?"
Holm threw up his hands in a gesture that indicated he considered Berger's accusations to be absurd.
"Do you understand me? Yes or no?"
"I heard what you said."
"I asked if you understood. Yes or no?"
"Do you really think you can get away with this? This paper comes out because I and the other cogs in the machinery work our butts off. The board is going to--"
"The board is going to do as I say. I'm here to revamp this paper. I have a carefully worded agreement that gives me the right to make far-reaching editorial changes at section editors' level. I can get rid of the dead meat and recruit new blood from outside if I choose. And Holm . . . you're starting to look like dead meat to me."
She fell silent. Holm met her gaze. He was furious.
"That's all," Berger said. "I suggest you consider very carefully what we've talked about today."
"I don't think--"
"It's up to you. That's all. Now go."
He turned on his heel and left the glass cage. She watched him disappear into the editorial sea in the direction of the cafeteria. Frisk stood up and made to follow.
"Not you, Johannes. You stay here and sit down."
She picked up his article and read it one more time.
"You're here on a temporary basis, I gather."
"Yes. I've been here five months--this is my last week."
"How
old are you?"
"Twenty-seven."
"I apologize for putting you in the middle of a duel between me and Holm. Tell me about this story."
"I got a tip this morning and took it to Holm. He told me to follow up on it."
"I see. It's about the police investigating the possibility that Lisbeth Salander was mixed up in the sale of anabolic steroids. Does this story have any connection to yesterday's article about Sodertalje, in which steroids also appeared?"
"Not that I know of, but it's possible. This thing about steroids has to do with her connection to boxers. Paolo Roberto and his pals."
"Paolo Roberto uses steroids?"
"What? No, of course not. It's more about the boxing world in general. Salander used to train at a gym in Soder. But that's the angle the police are taking. Not me. And somewhere the idea seems to have popped up that she might have been involved in selling steroids."
"So there's no actual substance to this story at all, just a rumour?"
"It's no rumour that the police are looking into the possibility. Whether they're right or wrong, I have no idea yet."
"OK, Johannes. I want you to know that what I'm discussing with you now has nothing to do with my dealings with Holm. I think you're an excellent reporter. You write well and you have an eye for detail. In short, this is a good story. My problem is that I don't believe it."
"I can assure you that it's quite true."
"And I have to explain to you why there's a fundamental flaw in the story. Where did the tip come from?"
"From a source within the police."
"Who?"
Frisk hesitated. It was an automatic response. Like every other journalist the world over, he was unwilling to name his source. On the other hand, Berger was editor in chief, and therefore one of the few people who could demand that information from him.
"An officer named Faste in the violent crimes division."
"Did he call you or did you call him?"
"He called me."
"Why do you think he called you?"
"I interviewed him a couple of times during the hunt for Salander. He knows who I am."
"And he knows you're twenty-seven and a temp and that you're useful when he wants to plant information that the prosecutor wants put out."
"Sure, I understand all that. But I get a tip from the police investigation and go over and have a coffee with Faste and he tells me this. He is correctly quoted. What am I supposed to do?"
"I'm convinced that you quoted him accurately. What should have happened is that you should have taken the information to Holm, who should have knocked on the door of my office and explained the situation, and together we would have decided what to do."
